A wide variety of baby products are available. For instance, resilient cushions have been developed which account for the special support needs of infants. One such cushion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 to Matthews and is marketed under the name "BOPPY.RTM." by the assignee of this patent application. These types of cushions typically are structured to maintain the infant in a predetermined position and to restrict the infant's movement therein to a predetermined degree.
Play mats have also been a largely commercially successful baby product. These play mats are effectively small blankets having one or more toys, mirrors, or the like attached thereto for stimulating the interests of the baby. However, in contrast to the above-noted support cushions, known play mats do not provide for any particular positioning of the infant or baby thereon. Therefore, the movement of the infant/baby is unrestrained.
Notwithstanding the large number of existing baby products, there remains a need for a multifunctional baby device which not only desirably supports the baby in one or more predetermined positions (e.g., by cradling the baby in a desired manner), but which also incorporates one or more toys.